Illois Hoe Approv Bill Pavg Way For Gay Marriage : The Two-Way : NPR

LAWMAKERS APPROVE GAY MARRIAGE ILLOIS

A historic vote Tuday the Illois Hoe posned that state to bee the largt the heartland to legalize gay marriage, followg months of arduo lobbyg efforts by both sis Print Barack Obama's home state. * gay marriage bill illinois *

The Illois General Assembly approved a bill to allow gay upl to wed. The historic vote Illois me after months of arduo lobbyg by gay-rights advot, but the bill was never lled for a Hoe vote earlier this year bee the sponsor said there were not enough vot.

Bowersox-Johnson heads the gay-rights group, the Up Center of Champaign County.

Sam Yglg, a Democrat om Round Lake Beach, is one of a handful of openly gay state legislators.

ILLOIS GAY MARRIAGE BILL PASS AS STATE POISED TO BEE 15TH TO LEGALIZE SAME SEX MARRIAGE

The state Hoe today narrowly approved a gay marriage bill, clearg the way for Illois to bee the 15th state Ameri to legalize same-sex unns. * gay marriage bill illinois *

The historic vote Illois me after months of arduo lobbyg by gay-rights advot, but the bill was never lled for a Hoe vote earlier this year bee the sponsor said there weren't enough vot. "(The state) will now be teachg children that homosexualy is good and healthy our ernment schools. "As I said my Ingural Addrs last January, our journey as a natn is not plete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else unr the law, for if we are tly created equal, then surely the love we m to one another mt be equal as well, " Obama said.

WHAT HAPPENED TO GAY MARRIAGE ILLOIS?

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Greg Harris, a primary sponsor of the bill who is openly gay, appld activists and advot who lobbied for the legislatn.

Many of those state bans also face legal challeng, wh nearly 30 lawsus filed across the untry after two Supreme Court cisns the summer that favored gay marriage rights. ': Gay upl exile return to Ameri post-DOMA cisnSame-sex marriage supporters cheer 'Crella moment'; opponents vow to fight onRights wh reach: For some gay upl, marriage is mere away -- but that's still too farDaniel Ark, Staff Wrer, NBC News. Lawmakers approved gay marriage Tuday a historic vote that saw supporters overe cultural, racial and geographic divis and put Illois le wh a growg number of stat that have extend the right to wed to same-sex more than a year of tense lobbyg by both sis, gay lawmakers ma emotnal pleas to lleagu to give their fai equal rights even as opponents argued that dog so would unravel the foundatn of society.

Rolvg the gay marriage qutn also allows state lears to get a divisive issue off their plat before next year's big statewi electn, even as long-standg fancial issu headled by the state's $100 billn public worker pensn shortfall rema unrolved. Print Barack Obama noted his relatively recent nversn last year to supporter of gay marriage. "Michelle and I are overjoyed for all the mted upl Illois whose love will now be as legal as ours — and for their iends and fay who have long wanted nothg more than to see their loved on treated fairly and equally unr the law, " Obama said a vote Tuday pped a year which prospects for gay marriage often were dim.

ILL. GAY MARRIAGE BILL DEAD THIS SSN

Supreme Court's landmark lg that stck down the fn of marriage as between a man and a woman for the purpose of receivg feral hailed as a major victory, the move created a suatn which gay upl livg stat that regnize same-sex marriage have more rights than their unterparts stat that haven't legalized gay marriage.

The two-class system was a clear narrative that advot uld e when lobbyg lawmakers who were on the fence, ntendg jt didn't make sense for gay upl Illois to be nied accs to benefs that were available to upl livg jt across the borr Iowa.

Advot soon received addnal help om Pope Francis, who warned that the Catholic Church uld lose s way by focg too much on social stanc, cludg opposn to homosexualy.

ILLOIS SENATE VOT TO BACK GAY MARRIAGE

"If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him? " Francis said ments sparked a wave of soul-searchg by several Catholic lawmakers who had battled to rencile their relig beliefs wh their sworn duty to reprent their nstuents who were creasgly supportive of gay rights even as Cardal Francis Gee remaed opposed.

"For those that jt happen to be gay — livg a very harmon, productive relatnship but illegal — who am I to judge that they should be illegal?

Madigan had e unr fire om some gay rights groups who argued that he wasn't dog enough to build support the chamber he ntrols, but advot say he was cril roundg up the fal need vot the last several, Madigan acknowledged that he helped persua "a signifint number of people" to vote for the legislatn. "It was over five, " Madigan said, addg that was not over addn, Ain-Amerin lawmakers who had been divid on the issue provid some key vot favor, and three Hoe Republins me speaker gave much cred to Harris, the bill's sponsor, sayg he was steadfast the face of "unwarranted cricism" om some the gay muny who were not happy wh the way Harris was handlg the bill. The legislatn would not require relig anizatns to wed gay upl, and church officials would not be forced to allow gay upl seekg to marry to e their opponents say the bill don't go far enough to protect relig rights.